Liverpool: Ozan Kabak marks historical Champions League moment in style

Liverpool takes a 2-0 advantage back to Anfield for the second leg in their round of 16 Champions League clash after their victory in Budapest.

It was a well-contested clash between Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Julian Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig. Unfortunately, two mistakes by a usually sturdy defence gifted the Reds their two goals.

A miss pass by captain Marcel Sabitzer and a slip by Lukas Klostermann set Mohamed Salah off on his bike to score the opener. The second came through a blunder by the other defender, Nordi Mukieleat, at the halfway line.

Sadio Mane pounced on his error and made no mistake when he slotted it pass Péter Gulácsi for the team’s second of the game and the final goal of the night.

Leipzig came close to taking the lead, then they came close to equalisinh when failing to take the lead and at the end, nearly lessened the two-goal deficit – literally missing the chance by a few inches in the dying minutes of the game.

With a lit bit of luck, some great shape without the ball, and complete focus for a full 90 minutes of football, they were able to see out an all-important and a confidence-building clean sheet.

Tuesday Night Champions League results

RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool
Barcelona 1-4 PSG

Some important facts from Liverpool’s win over RB Leipzig

Ozan Kabak became the first Turkish international to play a Champions League game for the Reds and an English club. His history-making moment ended in success for him and his new team.

The Turk and his partner Henderson look quite solid at the back and with help handled the lightning-quick attack of Nagelsmann’s forwards pretty well. With more time his addition could be a great one for Klopp.

Salah scoring form continues. He has now scored seven goals in seven outings across all competitions. There could have been more for the winger but his decision-making has to improve in front of goal.

It also takes Anfield’s most in-form goalscorer to 24 for the season – and there’s still more to come from the winger. Liverpool’s clean sheet should bring them more joy than anything else.

Alisson, who was shakey from the kickoff to the final whistle, kept his first clean sheet in eight outings across all competitions. Their last one came against old foes Manchester United back in January.

Liverpool’s player ratings

Goalkeeper: Alisson – 6.5
Defence: Trent – 8; Kabak – 8.5; Henderson – 7:5; Robertson – 8
Midfield: Gini – 7; Thiago – 8; Jones – 8
Forwards: Salah – 8; Mane – 8; Firmino – 6.5
Substitutions: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6; Xherdan Shaqiri – 6

Reasons for match rating:

• It really was between debutant Kebak and the fullback provider Trent Alexander-Arnold for who was the best on the night – they were Liverpool’s best players on the pitch who finished the 90 minutes
• The Top Flight’s Player of the Match – Ozan Kabak
• Alisson might have kept a clean sheet but was nervously two-minded with the ball at his feet. Poor distribution from the box sees him collect a 6.5 match rating
• Curtis Jones was one of the Reds’ best midfielders. He drew fouls, carried the ball forward with confidence, and made some good passes into the final third

• Thiago improved his game and was also world-class in the opening 45 minutes of the encounter.
• Chamberlain and Shaqiri didn’t do enough with their limited time on the pitch.